Ishikengo no Kami
by Kandelon
Summary: Naruto and Hinata are given a mission that might just bring them closer together, but this short term mission soon becomes a long term fight for survival as a mysterious scheme is revealed. !This story is no longer updating!
1. Chapter 1

Ishikengo no Kami

Author Notes:

Hello! Thank you for choosing to take the time to take a look at my fic. I hope you enjoy it. Few things first:

Disclaimer: I have no rights to the character, setting, story and otherwise that have been taken from the original manga and anime Naruto. I will make no money from this, nor do I intend to cost the holders of the original work's rights any money. I do this not to cause trouble, but to express a great appreciation for a wonderful series. I request that the original creator and those who have the rights to it to not look upon this not as a mean spirited infringement, but as a great compliment and free advertising.

Thanks: I would like to thank Tensai for beta reading, you were a ton of help! I would also like to give a big thanks to my friend Joe, whose characters and ideas I am, in part, using. Finally, thanks to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei for creating Naruto in the first place.

Denotation:

"Speech"

'_Thought_'

**-Sound**-

Japanese words and names:

Ano - denotes thinking or nervousness, like Umm or Err

Ara – sound of surprise, similar to 'huh?'

Demo – 'but'

Hai – The respectful form of 'yes'

Shuriken – Small star-shaped throwing weapon

Katana – A type of sword

-san – similar to Mr or Ms, but more widely used

-kun – added to the end of a name (usually a boy's) to indicate some level of friendliness

-chan – like –kun, but more for girls

-sama – very respectful, similar to lord, master or things like that

Ero-Sennin – Pervert-Hermit, Naruto's name for Jiraiya

Godaime – Refers to the fifth Hokage

Hokage – Leader of Konoha

Konoha – Leaf, refers to the Hidden Leaf Village

Genin – Lowest level of ninja

Chakra – The energy used to perform ninja techniques

Now, on to the story:

--------

It was a bright, cheerful day in the forest outside the hidden village of Konoha. The wildlife was going about its peaceful way, high up in the sky the sun was shining down on the world and nothing could have been more serene. The birds were singing, the grass was growing…

"Shit! I'm running late!"

…strange blurs in the trees were swearing…

A vague figure sprinted through the foliage, hopping from branch to branch. "The old lady is going to kill me!" said the figure. Its name was Uzumaki Naruto, age 12, and he was in a hurry. Bad things awaited him if he kept the Fifth Hokage waiting too long.

Naruto was on his way back from another mission. He'd been given a lot of them lately. He had been told it was because the village needed all the help it could get after that bastard Orochimaru's attack. He guessed, however, that the truth had more to do with Tsunade wanting to get rid of him so that he would stop asking her to let him go save Sasuke.Still, he was growing restless.

'_Where is that stupid Ero-Sennin anyways! I should be out training with him, not fighting all these weirdoes._'

The local inhabitants of one particular tree branch were suddenly sent scampering away as, without warning, the strange boy dropped out of nowhere and stopped abruptly. A strange feeling was washing over Naruto. Without knowing why, he started scanning the area from his perch. 'What the heck is this feeling? It's like…' The thought remained unfinished as he felt a blade press against his throat, drawing a single drop of blood.

"Why am I so attracted to you?"

The voice was low, menacing and, above all, male. It was also coming from directly behind.

"WHAT! Who the heck are you?" The drop was joined by a small trickle, as the blade was momentarily forgotten.

"I asked you a question," replied the un-named man without care. "Why am I so attracted to you?" Funny how he managed to make such an innocent phrase sound like a threat.

"What kind of pervert are you? Let me go!" Naruto shouted, struggling until the blade was withdrawn. He stumbled forward and swung around.

The man behind him was dressed entirely in black. His head wrapped, his mouth covered and a katana at his side. He seemed to be in his early twenties, but the most noticeable thing about him were his eyes. They stared straight into Naruto with such intensity that he forgot he should still be yelling at the weirdo.

"I asked you a question, boy. I expect an answer."

Then again, it didn't take much to remind him.

"W-WHAT? Who do you think you are? You sneak up on me, cut me and now you're trying to order me around?"

Even though his mouth was covered, Naruto could literally hear the sneer in the man's voice. "You call your self a ninja, making a racket like that? Pathetic. If I had wanted, you would have been dead before you even noticed me." Naruto was really starting to hate this guy.

'_This bastard!_' "Hey! Just try saying that again!"

"Forget it. What a waste of my time," and with that, he disappeared.

"What! Hey! I wasn't done yelling at you!" but it was too late. Not only had he vanished into thin air but that strange feeling was fading, as if the source was moving away. '_Who the hell was that bastard?_'

--------

'_Where the hell is that brat?_' Today was shaping up to be one of those days. That last mission she'd given him hadn't lasted as long as she had hoped. He was coming back already. Then, to top it all off, he's late! If he was going to not be around, that was fine by her (in fact, it's what she wanted), but that didn't mean he could just not show up!

"A…Ano….Godaime-sama…"

"Hmmm?" She'd almost forgot about the girl. That stupid brat was making her wait, too! "What is it, Hinata?"

"Ano, well, you see…"

"It's ok, just say what's on your mind."

"Th-the table…"

The Fifth Hokage looked down to where her hand was gripping the table's edge; the wood was starting to splinter. Damn that Naruto!

"Hey, Granny! I'm back!"

At those words she looked up to see the boy in question, dressed in his usual orange, scratching the back of his head and grinning like an idiot. "It's about time you showed up!"

"Sheesh," he mumbled not so quietly. "What's she so upset about?"

A vain twitched on the Hokage's temple. Momentarily, she pondered how much trouble she'd get into for pounding one of her own genin into the ground. "That's enough! No more out of you."

"Some welcome back," he mumbled a bit softer. "I've hardly said two words…"

"Stop mumbling. Or would you rather say that so I can hear it?" she said leaning forward sweetly, a false smile on her lips. An unhappy look crossed Naruto's face. "I didn't think so. Now can we get down to business? You've got a mission."

"Another one? Already?" he whined. He knew it; she was trying to get rid of him!

"Yes another one. Deal with it. The village has been having a lot of trouble lately and everyone's busy." This statement only earned a short -**harrumph**- from Naruto. "So, the two of you will be going together on this one."

"Huh? Two?" he asked, looking around. "Oh, Hinata?"

"Naruto-kun…."

"I didn't notice you at all!"

**-Dong of Dejection-** '_Naruto-kun…didn't notice me..._'

"Alright, listen up you two. I'm only going to explain this once. Hinata, it's your job to fill Naruto in later when it turns out he wasn't paying attention."

"H-Hai!" She stole a glance to her side to see how Naruto would react to that. He had his hands behind his head and was staring at the ceiling, appearing to have not noticed the jibe. Was he really not paying attention already? Well, Hinata had never pretended that attentiveness was Naruto's strong suit. His strength lay elsewhere, in his courage and determination. He never gave up and always believed in himself, something Hinata had never been able to do.

Un bidden, her mind turned back to when she was young….

_Her confidence had been shattered. Father had been so disappointed when she had messed up the tea ceremony that she had run off to cry. The shame burned her worse than the tea ever could._

_That's when she saw him._

_He had been practicing his shuriken throwing on his own. He hadn't done so well when they had practiced it in school, so he had come out in the afternoon to get it right. It was late evening now and he was still trying. She watched him again and again, trying to get it right, but it was no good. She felt the shame and embarrassment that he must have felt. Someone else was failing like she had. In the end, it was no use…_

"_Not yet! I'm not giving up yet!"_

Startled from her thoughts she watched him pick himself up, ragged with exhaustion, and collect his weapons. He wasn't giving up. He was still trying… 

"…and so that's your mission." The words startled Hinata from the past, whipping her forward into the present before she could catch her mental balance. "Get going you two!"

"Hai, hai. We got it. Come on Hinata, let's get this over with."

"Huh?" Oh no! She'd spaced out and missed what the Hokage had said! And Naruto hadn't been paying attention! And now they wouldn't know what the mission was! '_What do I do? What do I do?_'

"Huh? Hinata?" he asked as his temporary teammate's head swiveled back and forth between him and the Hokage, a strange look on her face. '_Hmmm…maybe she _is_ a weirdo after all…oh well._'

"Come on Hinata," he said, grabbing the pale-eyed girl's hand and dragging her out of the office. "Let's go."

"D-Demo…Demo…" her sputtered words falling on deaf ears.

'_Well, that takes care of him for a while,'_ thought the Fifth._ 'Damn that Jiraiya! I'm not the boy's keeper. Where is that stupid oaf?_'

--------

They were all the way across town before Hinata managed to speak up. "N-Naruto-kun…D-do you know w-where we're s-s-s-supposed…t-to go?" All the blood in her cheeks appeared to be making it hard for her to speak.

Well, even harder than normal.

"Ah jeez, not you too! If you believed that old bag you'd think I never listen to anybody!"

"N-Naruto-kun…"

"I mean, seriously! It's not like I go around with my ears plugged or anything."

"Naruto-kun"

"I bet she doesn't give anyone else such a hard time. She just likes picking on me and…"

"Naruto-kun!"

"Huh? Hinata? What's up?"

"….m-my hand…." He looked down. He was still holding it.

"Huh? Oh! Sorry about that." His hand released hers. As much as she wished it hadn't, at least now she wasn't at risk of passing out. She took a moment to catch her breath.

"Well, now we wait. He'd better not take too long."

"Huh? Who…who are we waiting for, N-Naruto-kun?"

"Ara? Did you forget, Hinata? Come to think of it, you're looking rather red…are you ok?" he asked, advancing. "You don't have a fever do you?"

"N-NO!" She shouted, waving her arms in front of her and backing away. "I-I'm fine! R-Really!" His holding her hand had been about as much as she could take. Having him check her temperature…she hoped she'd make it through this mission without losing consciousness.

"Huh? Ah, ok then. If you're sure." He resumed waiting, tapping his foot impatiently on the ground. "We're supposed to meet some guy from the Hidden Branch. It's some new village or something and they want help getting set up. So we're stuck hiking all the way there with some representative of theirs to…"

It took Hinata a moment to register the sudden silence. Looking up at Naruto she saw him frantically scanning around the area as if searching for something. "N-Naruto-kun?"

"Shhh…can you feel that?"

"H-Huh?" Hinata was confused. What was Naruto talking about?

Slowly, Naruto found what he was searching for. '_Oh crap._'

"You again."

Naruto wheeled around at the sound of the voice, intending to do some serious yelling. Instead, he jumped backwards when he found himself face to face with that bastard from earlier. "Ah! You don't have to stand so close!"

"You felt me coming. I take it you feel it too; this attraction between us."

Somewhere in the background, a very surprised young girl made a small yelp.

"Stop saying that! Who are you anyways?"

"Still yelling like an idiot. How pathetic," he paused a moment to look the two genin over. "My name is Alucard. You will remember it. I take it your presence here means that you and that girl over there are the ones being sent? A meek little girl and a loudmouthed idiot; I told them Konoha would not take the request seriously."

"What! That's it; I've had about enough of you! You're going down bastard!" Crossing his fingers in front of him, Naruto summoned his chakra. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Seven more Narutos appeared around the original. "Alright you bastard! Time to…Hey, where'd he go?" His adversary had vanished again. The assembled clones looked around in surprise. "Hah! He must have run away again!" The real Naruto, however, didn't share their enthusiasm. That guy was still here; he could feel it.

**-Poof Poof**-

Naruto turned to see two clones burst into smoke on the left.

-**Poof Poof Poof**-

Three more on the right. '_Where is he?_' The last two clones burst and Naruto only had time to brace himself as that strange feeling suddenly came into focus. He was right behind him.

"Pathetic once again" Naruto turned slowly to see Alucard standing behind him casually. "I see no benefit in bringing such a weakling back with me."

'_This bastard…_'

"But, my orders are to bring back the ones Konoha chooses to send. Therefore, you will come with me."

"Like hell I will! You and your stupid village can just go jump in a lake for all I care!" Burning with embarrassment and anger Naruto turned to leave, only to be stopped as Alucard's arm suddenly shot straight out to the side, bringing his sword directly in front of Naruto's neck.

"I may be under orders to bring you, but they never said you both had to be alive."

The moment stretched on. Naruto could feel beads of sweat rolling down his cheek. Finally Alucard, eyes still filled with venom, lowered his sword and began to walk away.

"Bring the girl."

--------

Naruto fumed for another moment. He considered refusing to go and heading back home, but decided that would be running away. He would not only see out his mission, but also look for a chance to pay that bastard back. That's the ticket!

He didn't admit it to himself, but the fact that Alucard would probably come looking for him was also a factor. Besides, he wanted to know what was going on. That nagging feeling…

The blonde boy turned to look for his companion. He found her on the ground, mumbling incoherently while unconscious. "…A-Attracted to Naruto-kun….Feels it too…."

Perhaps fortunately, she seemed to have missed the battle.

--------

"He is leaving."

Two figures in the darkness, far from the path, watched the ragtag group head down the road.

"Are we sure he is the one? Fallen said that…"

"Fallen could not have found him. It's because of that seal… No matter. He is the one we are looking for. That is certain." The speaker's voice was firm. He was obviously the leader. "But more importantly, did you notice who he was with?"

"Yes. We should grab them both quickly."

"Don't be a fool. If we move now we will lose him. We can wait." There was a pause as the figure looked up into the sky. "How fortuitous that the two who have proved hardest to find should happen together just as we arrive… Send word. I shall handle this personally."


	2. Chapter 2

Ishikengo no Kami

Author Notes:

Hello again! Thank you for continuing on to this chapter. I hope you enjoy it as well. Few things first again:

UPDATES:

11/26/05 Made some changes based on additional beta reading from Lotusxleaf. No large changes other than the last sentence, which it seems was being misread by some.

Also, sorry for the delay on chapter 3. Holidays and other complications have slowed it down, but it shouldn't be too much longer.

Disclaimer: I have no rights to the character, setting, story and otherwise that have been taken from the original manga and anime Naruto. I will make no money from this, nor do I intend to cost the holders of the original work's rights any money. I do this not to cause trouble, but to express a great appreciation for a wonderful series. I request that the original creator and those who have the rights to it to not look upon this not as a mean spirited infringement, but as a great compliment and free advertising.

Thanks: I would like to thank Tensai-san and Lotusxleaf-san for beta and proof reading. I would also like to give a big thanks to my friend Joe, whose characters and ideas I am, in part, using. Finally, thanks to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei for creating Naruto in the first place.

Denotation:

"Speech"

'_Thought_'

**-Sound**-

Japanese:

Nii – Older brother

Ganbatte – Do your best/Good luck

--------

Hinata woke slowly, her pale eyes opening to the sight of trees moving past her, bobbing up and down. They were also upside-down. It was not a common sight. Slowly, the fog in her mind started to dissipate as she began to take stock of her situation.

She was being carried.

Looking up, she saw that she was being carried **by him**!

A moment later, she came to for a second time. This time she managed to speak up. "A-Ano…Na-Naruto-kun…?"

"Huh? Oh, Hinata?" He looked at the girl in his arms, her face beet red and her fingers poking together in front of her. "What's up?"

"I-I…I think I c-can walk now…" Despite all laws of pigmentation, the blush somehow managed to deepen further.

"Ah, ok." He said, stopping to set her on her feet. "It's about time, too."

The girl's smile fell instantly, giving way to a look of horror and embarrassment. '_Oh no! I was too heavy! He had to carry me all this way!_'

"I was getting bored. I was hoping you'd wake up so I'd have someone to talk to. That Alucard bastard…"

Inwardly, Hinata breathed a sigh of relief. Then, a few key points about what had been going on just before her collapse came back to her. "A-Ah! You mean th-that guy from before?"

"Yeah, him."

"The g-guy who said…he….was…"

"Attracted to me? Don't remind me! The guy's creepy enough as it is." He sighed. "Wish I knew what this feeling was though…" Hinata turned slightly pink. "I mean, I definitely feel pulled towards him." Rosy. "Like, there's a connection between us." Crimson. "I've never felt like this before."

Even though she normally blended into the background, the look on Hinata's face was enough to grab Naruto's attention. "N-Not like that! It's nothing like that!" The blush didn't quite fade completely as Naruto went ahead irritably with his explanation. "It's just…a feeling that there's something. Like we're connected some how. I don't know how to explain it…." he turned his attention back to the young girl in front of him. "It's like…Have you ever had the feeling you're being watched?"

Hinata considered this a silly question. Who would watch her? But her mind dredged up thoughts of her father. Before giving up on her, he had been watching. Always. Looking for the slightest mistake… "Hai…I do…"

Missing the look on her face and the sound in her voice, Naruto plunged on ahead in his explanation. "It's kinda like that! I can just sorta feel when he's around, even if I can't see him."

Speaking of which…

"If the two of you are done playing kissy-face, start walking. We've got a long way to go, but I'll drag you both there by your ankles if I have to."

With that, Alucard turned from his position two feet away from the genin and started walking off down the road again. "Gah! Doesn't he make any sound when he moves?" -**sigh**- "Come on Hinata, before… Hinata? Are you feeling alright?"

'_K-Kissy-face with Naruto-kun!_'

--------

It is a well known fact that whenever a small group of trained fighters travel long distance through sparsely populated woody areas, they will eventually be attacked by some form of bandit group. It seemed that fate had decided to get things over with early this time.

"Ah! Nii-chan! Nii-chan!"

"What is it, Ontaro?" The speaker was a heavy set, scarred man. He was wearing a big wooden club at his side. He was, in short, the quintessential 'big dumb bandit who jumps out of the woods and bothers the main characters'.

"There are some travelers coming down the road! They look like easy pickings; it's two children and a man. He's carrying a sword, but he doesn't look so tough." Ontaro looked very much like his older brother, though a tiny bit smaller. That wasn't saying much, however, as both where rather intimidating figures.

"Alright then, time to go to work," the brother said, rubbing his hands together.

--------

"…so you see, that's why ramen is totally the best food ever! It's like…"

"Hold it right there!"

Naruto stopped in confusion as two rather big men stepped out from the woods. "Huh? Who're you?"

"Heheheh. No questions from _you_, squirt. Now, if the three of you hand over your valuables we won't have to kill you." He looked around a moment before turning to his companion. "I thought you said there where three."

"Huh? I could have sworn there was a man with them…"

"Wait," the boy stepped forward. "Are you bandits?"

"That's right; we are. Now, be a good boy and…"

"All right! Finally something to do! All this walking has been boring me to death. Hey Hinata, which one do you want?"

"H-Hey you stupid brat! Do you understand the situation you're in!"

"Stupid….brat…." -**twitch twitch**- "Never mind Hinata, that one's mine!"

"Brat!" The eldest brother charged the blonde boy with his club held high, intending to take him out in a single swing.

The single swing never connected. He might have been a real tough guy as compared to your average traveler, but up against a trained ninja the best he could do was to take a punch straight to the stomach and slump to the ground unconscious. This was, not coincidentally, exactly what happened. "Don't underestimate me."

"Y-You Bastard! You hurt Nii-chan! Ahhh!" the other bandit cried out, raising his club over his head and charging forward. Naruto wheeled around, ready to take on the other attacker, but he never got the chance. A line of blood trickled from the bandit's mouth before he toppled over. Behind him, Hinata relaxed out of her fighting stance.

"Nice one, Hinata!" A smile crept across her face. '_Naruto-kun…_'

"Pathetic."

'_That bastard!_' Naruto whirled around. "And where the hell were you, huh? Not that we needed your help or anything. We took those guys out no problem!"

"Do you always fight head on like that? I thought you were supposed to be a ninja."

**-Grrrrr**- "At least I don't run and hide like a sissy whenever anyone threatens me!"

Once again, Hinata found herself on the outside of another argument between the two. This looked to be a repeating pattern. '_Naruto-kun…Ganbatte._'

"Besides, where's your head band? Did you even graduate yet?" asked Naruto in sickeningly sarcastic tones.

"Hmph. I never said I was a ninja. I'm more than capable enough without a bunch of silly tricks."

"S-Silly tricks?" This bastard…

"Never mind, fool. Just finish them and be done with it."

Naruto's anger suddenly hit an unexpected bump. "Finish them? What do you mean, 'finish them'?"

"I mean, slit their throats and be done with it."

"What? I'm not killing them!"

"Fine," replied Alucard, stepping towards the unconscious bandits and drawing his sword. "Then I will."

He wouldn't, would he? Could he really kill them like that? Alucard was drawing closer by the second. Naruto had to do something. "Stop it!" He cried, stepping in Alucard's way. "Just what do you think you're doing? You'd actually just kill innocent people like that? What kind of psycho are you?"

"Innocent? A moment ago they were going to kill you for not giving them your money, now you call them innocent?"

"Th-that doesn't mean you should kill them, bastard!"

"I'd say it's a pretty good reason. Scum like this doesn't deserve mercy."

"I won't let you!" Naruto stood his ground, hands balled into fists, as Alucard continued to fix him with a frosty stare.

"And then what will you do when they find some new victims? What if the next group they jump can't defend themselves? What will you say to the families of those they kill tomorrow?" Naruto was taken aback, shock in his eyes. '_wh-what?_'

"You may be willing to spare this scum because you think it's somehow righteous, but I won't stand by and risk the lives of innocent people by allowing trash like this to go free."

Alucard advanced again, slowly. Naruto was shaking. He didn't know what to do. He knew that killing was wrong, but…but he couldn't deny Alucard's words. The moment weighed heavily on his mind. Every step was completely silent, but even so they resounded in Naruto's head like the fall of lead. He couldn't think. He couldn't…couldn't…

"I-I agree with Naruto-kun!"

Alucard stopped and turned his icy stare to the side. Naruto looked in disbelief. '_H-Hinata…?_'

"Even though what they do is wrong, th-that does not make killing them right." The blue haired girl strode forward, positioning herself next to Naruto. She was shaking, but her eyes were firm. "I-I agree with N-Naruto-kun. I w-will not let you kill them, either."

Naruto could only stare at the girl by his side. How could she still say that? How…

**-Humph**- Alucard looked them both over, cold disdain in his eyes. It was a moment before he replied. "Fine, do as you like." He said, turning to leave. "But let the suffering their lives shall bring be on both of your heads."

--------

"This is a good spot. We camp here." Alucard had declared that they would be spending the night off of the road, to avoid detection. He had then led them into the woods without waiting for a reply.

Hinata looked up. He seemed to have found some sort of abandoned temple. Its stone walls where crumbling and covered in ivy. Trees were growing all around it. It had obviously been abandoned for some time. Even so…

"A-Ano….Alucard-san…."

"What is it now."

Hinata gulped. Ever since that incident with the bandits a few hours ago, Naruto had fallen completely silent. This left Hinata as the unofficial spokesperson of the two. There hadn't been much to say, since Alucard didn't seem to care much for talking, but the few times she had spoken up had been minor nightmares.

"I…I don't th-think we sh-should…" That stare! How was she supposed to speak when he kept looking at her like that? Like his eyes were trying to bore a hole to the back of her skull…

"Afraid?"

"Ah!" Startled out of her thoughts, Hinata struggled to get the words out. "I-I-I mean…it's just…it's not the sort of place…"

"Because it's _sacred_? Stupid superstition. I'll not sleep on the ground just because I'm afraid of some old building. Stay here if you want. I don't really care." With that, he entered the sacred ruins, leaving Hinata alone with Naruto.

Slowly, Naruto removed his pack and began to pull out his supplies. He moved distractedly, like a zombie. Deep inside somewhere, he was lost in his own confused thoughts.

'_Naruto-kun…_'

--------

It was getting late. Alucard propped himself up against what had once been an altar of some kind. His positioning was perfect. Nothing could get in without him noticing. Slowly, he closed his eyes. Silence reigned in the sacred room. Slowly, sleep stole over him. It was always now, in the time between conscious and sleep, that his memories were at their hardest to avoid…

A strange feeling awoke him. His eyes snapped open and began to scan the room from where he sat. There didn't seem to be anyone around. It didn't feel at all like the brat. Something was wrong.

That's when he noticed a shadow, creeping over from the wall. He looked to see what was casting it, but all he saw was the ancient stone wall. The shadow began to rise up like a dark cloud, a slithering fog reaching out towards him.

He tried to stand, only to realize his legs had gone numb. Another shadow-cloud had wrapped itself around them, drawing the strength and heat from his body. He tried to draw his sword, but a third shadow gripped his arm and started to slowly spiral up it. That's when the first shadow reached him, just as a fourth appeared. Slowly and struggling silently, Alucard was engulfed in swirling darkness.

'**_You are ours._**'

--------

The dishes were cleaned and put away. Two sleeping bags were laid out under the stars and the fire was well set to keep them warm through the night. "Well, there we go! A job well done, right Hinata?"

"H-Hai!"

Hinata had asked Naruto if he was ok while they were cooking dinner. He had laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Of course I'm fine! I was just thinking about how I'm going to beat that bastard up, that's all!"

Hinata wasn't buying it. He was acting cheerful again, but she was too accustomed to sadness to miss it in his eyes. He was worried about something. He was worried, and trying to hide it.

As the darkness grew, the two ninja's from Konoha settled down into their sleeping bags. Naruto was wearing that silly hat again, Hinata noticed. She liked it; it was funny.

"Goodnight, Hinata."

"G-Goodnight…Naruto-kun."

Time passed. Hinata lay awake. She couldn't stop worrying about Naruto. There probably wasn't anything she could do though. She couldn't cheer him up; She couldn't even talk to him. She couldn't really help him at all…

"Hey, Hinata? Are you awake?"

"…H-Hai, Naruto-kun." So, he wasn't able to sleep either.

"I was wondering…you know, about before…"

"H-Hai?"

"…never mind. It's not important. Good night, Hinata."

The silence stretched on a moment before Hinata couldn't stand it any more. "N-Naruto-kun?"

"Hmmm?"

"I-If it is important…I…I w-want…to h-help. If I can."

"Hinata?"

"P-Please? Tell me?"

"…..Hinata……."

Silence again. Hinata worried that she'd messed up. What if he thought she was a bother? What if he thought she was being pushy? She wasn't sure why she'd said that in the first place. "G-Gomen, Naruto-kun! Y-You don't have to say anything." She buried her face in her pillow. She was so ashamed.

"…….was I right?" The words where so soft she thought she'd imagined them.

"H-Huh? ….Naruto-kun?

"Was I right? I'm not so sure anymore…What he said….What if he's right?" She could hear the desperation in his voice. The volume rose and pace quickened. "What if those guys really do something terrible because I let them go? What if it's all my fault that someone else gets hurt? What if….what if…."

Naruto's voice dropped into silence. He couldn't take it any more. Everything had been so clear before. Beat up the bad guys, save the good guys and no one ever needed to die. He could feel tears welling up inside.

He had been thinking back to the past. Other incidents, like the time he was in the Wave Country. All those ruffians who had been working for Gatou when he encountered them on the bridge had wanted to attack the village and kill the people…but Naruto and the villagers had scared them off. What had they done after that? Had they simply gone home and lived quiet, peaceful lives? That seemed unlikely. What if they'd found another village? One that wouldn't fight back…

Even so, could he really have killed anyone? He didn't have it in him. He didn't want to have it in him. Even so…what if one day he had no choice? What if there was no other option? What if…

"I believe in you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked up in shock. Hinata had turned in her sleeping bag to face him. He stared across at her, not knowing what to think. "You followed your heart. You knew it was wrong to kill them and stuck by it."

"Hinata…."

"You shouldn't doubt yourself or your instincts. I learned that by watching you. It's one of the reasons…I admire you, Naruto-kun. I'm glad you didn't let Alucard-san kill them. If you had…you wouldn't have been you." Hinata looked like she was about to cry. "Naruto-kun…please…just keep being yourself. If you do, I-I'm sure you will…do the right thing."

Hinata hid her face. She hadn't been able to contain it. Seeing him so sad like that…it hurt her. It was like that time at the training ground, right before his match with Neji-niisan. Somehow, she'd managed to talk to him then, too.

"Arigato."

"Eh?" Hinata looked back over at Naruto. He was looking up at the sky.

"It looks like I was being uncharacteristically depressed, but…" he rolled over to look at her. "You managed to cheer me up again." He was smiling softly. It wasn't very big, but it was a real smile. They looked so much better on him. Hinata felt her blush rising again. He turned back into a comfortable position and closed his eye.

"Good night, Hinata-chan."

"G-Good night, Naruto-kun."

A faint smile on her lips, the Hyuuga heiress settled back down and closed her eyes. Slowly sleep stole over her….

Suddenly, her eyes snapped back open. '_Wh-what did he just call me!_'


	3. Chapter 3

Ishikengo no Kami

Author Notes:

Hello again! Thank you for continuing on to this chapter. I hope you enjoy it as well. Few things first again:

IMPORTANT NOTE:

It came to my attention while writing this chapter the some people misread the last line of Chapter 2. I have since updated that chapter to make it clearer. If you read the original version, note that

'_H-Hinata-**chan**?ׂ!_'

was intended to be thought (hence the single quotes and italics). Basically, Hinata realizing what Naruto had just called her. (The sitechanging the ?ׂ! to just ! didn't help I think…) It now reads

'_W-What did he just call me?_'

in an attempt to be clearer. Unfortunately, I liked the old line better…

Disclaimer: I have no rights to the character, setting, story and otherwise that have been taken from the original manga and anime Naruto. I will make no money from this, nor do I intend to cost the holders of the original work's rights any money. I do this not to cause trouble, but to express a great appreciation for a wonderful series. I request that the original creator and those who have the rights to it to not look upon this not as a mean spirited infringement, but as a great compliment and free advertising.

Thanks: I would like to thank Tensai-san for beta and proof reading. I would also like to give a big thanks to my friend Joe, whose characters and ideas I am, in part, using. Finally, thanks to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei for creating Naruto in the first place.

Denotation:

"Speech"

'_Thought_'

**-Sound**-

Japanese:

Otou-san – Father

Nindo – "Way of the Ninja"

--------

The sun rose, heralding the beginning of another day in the woods. All around, birds awoke and began to sing in opposing melodies. Deep in an abandoned temple, a figure stirred.

Slowly, Alucard rose from the ground and began to stagger across the floor. He wobbled uncertainly, clutching his hand over his left eye and making slow progress towards the exit. Halfway there he paused, slumping forward. Drawing in breath, he slowly stood up straight, lowered his hand and walked towards the exit.

He arrived outside to find the brats finishing their breakfast. Their sleeping bags were packed back up and it looked like they were about ready to go.

"Come on, let's get moving."

The blond boy looked up from his bowl. "Sheesh, he's so bossy." He muttered as he began to pack up his things. Before long, he and Hinata were ready to leave and set off down the road together. Alucard stood and watched them a moment before starting after them, a single drop of blood rolling down his cheek.

--------

In the woods, a figure watched on. "This little complication could prove extremely frustrating." The morning wind rustled his clothing as another figure arrived.

"Sir, I've delivered your message." The other figure was breathing heavily, as if exhausted. He'd been running a lot.

"Good, but now I've another for you to deliver. Things have become more difficult…"

--------

"Oi, Hinata? What do you think about that Alucard bastard?" Naruto asked looking sideways at his quiet companion.

'_So, I'm just "Hinata" after all…_' She sighed; it had been too good to be true. She had probably just imagined it last night anyways. "I-I think… he isn't very good at getting along with people. Th-Though, he doesn't seem to try either."

-**Humph**- "Yeah, you're right. He's just a big jerk, like I said." Hinata watched Naruto from the side as he walked with his hands behind his head. It was time. It wouldn't be easy, but she'd already promised herself. She couldn't take back her words. That was her Nindo, after all. "N-Naruto-kun?"

"Huh? What's up, Hinata?"

"I was w-wondering…about…"

"Huh? Speak up. If you keep mumbling I won't be able to understand you." Hinata blushed, but steeled herself to make a braver attempt. "I w-was just w-wondering…"

"What?"

"I-It's just…I d-don't know much about you, s-so…"

"Like, what?"

"W-Well, lots of things. L-Like… about your parents and things."

Hinata didn't notice immediately as Naruto's mood darkened; she was a bit preoccupied with forcing herself to keep speaking. "I-It's just that...you've never mentioned them. So…so…" She fell into silence. She couldn't see his eyes, but it was rare to see him so down cast. "N-Naruto-kun?"

"That's because…I don't know anything about them. I never knew them and no one's ever told me about them…" Hinata didn't know what to say. She hadn't expected things to get so serious.

"I-I'm sorry…Naruto-kun…I…"

"No, it's ok. I'm fine." Naruto lifted his head, a smile on it. "I'm used to it, so it's no big deal." He took a moment, but eventually noticed Hinata's look of concern. "Really, it's ok. It's just…some times I get a little jealous. Having parents must be nice."

"…."

They walked in silence for some time. Every once in a while, Naruto had to suppress a shiver. Looking back, he could see Alucard still trailing behind them staring intently at him. '_Man that guy's creepy!_' Something was off, though. He couldn't quite…

"It's…" Oh, Hinata! He had forgotten about her again. "It's…not always that great."

"Huh?"

"Having parents…it's not always…" She fell silent again. It was a hard subject for her as well.

"Tell me." She looked up at the boy. He smiled back. "Tell me what you want to say; I want to hear it."

--------

They picked a nice spot to camp for the night. There was no temple this time. Naruto and Hinata continued to talk as they set up their sleeping bags and put away their dishes. They didn't say a whole lot, but they exchanged a lot of words.

"And so then, Iruka-sensei bought me a whole 'nother bowl of ramen!"

Well, Naruto exchanged a whole lot of words. Hinata was content to listen though. She had been watching Naruto for a long time, but there was a lot she still didn't know.

"Say, Hinata?"

"H-hai? Naruto-kun?" she replied, startled from her thoughts.

"Does your dad really say those mean things about you?"

"H-hai…" Her father was right though. She wasn't any good. She'd never live up to the family's expectations of her. She'd come to understand that a long time ago. She tried her best, but…

"That jerk! When we get back to Konoha, I'm going to have a talk with him! He shouldn't say those kind of things."

"N-no! Naruto-kun, you shouldn't!"

"And why not? When I'm Hokage I'll be able to stop stuff like that no problem, but until then I'll have to take care of that sort of thing myself." Naruto nodded and smiled smugly. It was decided. That is how things will be.

"D-demo…Otou-san…"

"Don't worry about it! I'll take care of it. That's a promise!" He struck the 'nice guy pose' for her. "and I don't take back my promises. That's my nindo. Now, let's finish getting ready for bed. It's getting late already."

--------

Naruto and Hinata lay in their sleeping bags, the sound of nature's nightlife washing over them. Naruto lay awake. He was still going over the incident from the day before…

'_Hinata said I had to go with my instincts and follow my heart…but…that doesn't answer everything. What if I had to kill someone some day? There might not be a choice._' He sighed. He was feeling better than he had the night before. Talking to Hinata then had calmed him down a lot, but even so…

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata's hushed voice came to him over the crackle of fire and chirping of insects.

"Can't sleep either, huh?"

"H-hai."

"I know. I can't quite get over it either." He continued to stare up at the stars. It was a nice night. "What you said was true but…I don't know…"

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"Huh?"

"T-That's n-not why I can't s-sleep…"

"Huh? Then what is?" He turned and followed her nervous gaze. "Ah! He's so creepy!"

"Wh-what do we do?"

"Just ignore him. He can't keep that up all night."

Naruto and Hinata fell silent, lying back and staring straight up into the sky. A faint chill that had nothing to do with the weather made them both shiver in synchronization. Behind them Alucard sat propped up against a tree, on the other side of the campfire, staring straight at them unblinkingly. The looks on their faces said it all.

'_He's soo creepy!_'

--------

The trio continued down the road in the morning. Alucard had resumed his spot at the front and Naruto and Hinata were following him a ways behind.

"Is it just me, or is he getting worse?" Naruto asked his companion. The two of them had taken up Alucard as the main point of conversation since last night. "It's like, when he looked at you before it was creepy because he was always staring so intensely. Now when looks at you, it's like unnatural how creepy it is."

Hinata nodded. She was slowly becoming a little scared of their silent escort. She hoped he couldn't hear them. She had noticed that even Naruto, who was afraid of nothing, seemed to be avoiding him. It's like he projected an air about him that put everyone on edge.

She looked down. There was another drop of blood on the ground. They were rather infrequent, but they seemed to be coming from Alucard. She wasn't sure what to make of it, and wasn't about to ask.

"Ara? What's that?" Hinata looked up at Naruto and then off in the direction he was looking. "Smoke?"

The billowing clouds were coming from behind the trees. "Let's go take a look. Someone could be in trouble!"

Hinata followed Naruto through the trees. They soon came upon an old farmhouse in a small clearing. It was on fire. "Shit! This is bad; there could be people in there!"

"Byakugan!" The veins around Hinata's eyes grew with the strain of seeing in all directions at once. She focused in on the house and began searching through the walls.

"Naruto-kun! There are some people trapped on the second floor! The stairs are burning and the floor is about to give way. We have to help them!"

"Right, time to…" Naruto was cut off as a figure ran past him. Alucard reached the front door and dove straight in. Naruto hesitated a moment in surprise before taking off towards the house after him.

Just as Naruto and Hinata reached the front door they heard a voice from above. "Make yourselves useful and catch!" They looked up in time to see Alucard toss a screaming woman from the window.

"Shit!" Naruto cried before crossing his fingers. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

--------

A pile of black debris sent billowing clouds of smoke into the air as a young girl tended to the wounds of the survivors. The rescue hadn't taken long. Soon, all four family members had been retrieved and Alucard had leapt to the ground just as the building collapsed. It had been a close one.

The old farmer rose and spoke for his family. "Oh, thank you all so much! We owe you a great debt of gratitude."

"Ah, don't worry about it! Helping people is what we do. Right, Hinata?" The girl in question nodded quietly. She didn't feel she deserved much praise; all she had done was locate the family and tend to their wounds.

"And you sir! We thank you most of all!" Naruto's smile turned to a frown of disappointment as the farmer approached Alucard. He had his back turned to everyone and was clutching his left eye. "Is there any way…"

He was cut off as Alucard knocked his hand away before he could touch him. "Stay back!" His eyes were wide and angry; the farmer stumbled back in fear. Alucard bent over slightly and groaned as if in pain. Hinata noticed a thin trickle of blood escaping his left eye like a tear.

"Huh? He was trying to thank you, you bastard! Sheesh, what's with you anyways?" Alucard bent down further, his face now hidden by the angle. '_N-Naruto-kun!_'

Alucards right hand, still gripping his sheathed sword, began to shake. The area around him seemed to darken as a wave of fear washed over the onlookers, causing the children to cower with their mother. For a long time, no one moved. Finally, Alucard stood slowly and unsteadily, as if by force of will alone. His breathing was ragged and heavy, but his hand had stopped shaking. Slowly he turned and walked away. By then, even Naruto was sweating bullets.


	4. Chapter 4

Ishikengo no Kami

Author Notes:

Hello again! Thank you for continuing on to this chapter. I hope you enjoy it as well. Few things first again:

Disclaimer: I have no rights to the character, setting, story and otherwise that have been taken from the original manga and anime Naruto. I will make no money from this, nor do I intend to cost the holders of the original work's rights any money. I do this not to cause trouble, but to express a great appreciation for a wonderful series. I request that the original creator and those who have the rights to it to not look upon this not as a mean spirited infringement, but as a great compliment and free advertising.

Thanks: I would like to thank Tensai-san for beta and proof reading. I would also like to give a big thanks to my friend Joe, whose characters and ideas I am, in part, using. Finally, thanks to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei for creating Naruto in the first place.

Denotation:

"Speech"

'_Thought_'

**Sound**

Japanese:

--------

Yet another day broke in the forest. Luckly, there always seemed to be more days no matter how many were broken. A chipmunk, gathering nuts in a tree, paused as something approached on the road. A figure drew closer. Now all small animals are, by their very nature, scared. You would be too if you knew just how many things there are lurking around that could chomp you down like a piece of pocky. Even so, a very bad feeling was creeping up inside; every instinct told it to run as fast as it could away from the thing. It quickly obliged.

Shortly afterwards, two more figures came into view following the first at a distance. Their heads hung low, their feet dragged and large bags could be seen under their eyes. It was Naruto and Hinata, and they looked exhausted.

"Ah! I'm exhausted." Hinata could only manage a small nod in reply. How long had it been since she'd had a good night sleep? Days. Maybe a week. Not since they'd left Konoha. She'd hardly slept a wink after Naruto had unwittingly called her 'Hinata-chan'. Since then, however….

--------

"Is that the way you treat everyone who tried to thank you?" shouted Naruto. "You looked like you were going to attack that poor guy! You scared the heck out of him!" Hinata followed quietly. This had been going on for a while now. Alucard just kept walking while Naruto shouted ineffectively at his back. She didn't quite know what to think. One second Alucard was rushing into a burning building to save the farmer and his family, then the next he looked ready to kill them. But something about the look in his eyes just before he had left…

"Hey are you even listening to me? Man, why do…" Naruto broke off as he suddenly noticed Alucard actually _was_ paying attention. He had turned a venomous gaze that threatened to burn a hole in anyone so foolish as to continue talking.

An overwhelming surge of fear hit the genin. It was unreal. They could only stare mutely as a small trickle of blood flowed from the man's eye. Absently, Alucard reached up and brushed the blood from his cheek before turning to leave.

--------

The night after 'the incident' had proven worse than the night before. In addition to spending the entire night staring at the two of them, his eye had been slowly bleeding the entire time. Neither Naruto nor Hinata slept at all that night. It only seemed to get worse from there.

A black cloud of fear, anger and depression had slowly settled over Naruto and Hinata. Every day was spent walking and talking about things to keep their mind off the situation. Every night was spent huddled together on the opposite side of the fire from Alucard. They didn't even bother trying to sleep any more. With him there, they felt a need to keep an eye on him to feel safe. Besides, even with their eyes closed they could feel him staring.

And every night now they could hear him mumbling in some strange language. It sounded like something that would be spoken by creatures in the darkest of caves. The sound of it gave them the chills.

Naruto hated this. He was supposed to be brave. Not afraid of anything. But something about Alucard's presence struck a primal cord. Naruto was afraid from deep inside. He fought it, but it was still there.

And so with every passing day they drew ever closer to their destination. Hinata felt they couldn't get there soon enough.

--------

Hinata looked at the boy she cared for so much. His usual energy seemed drained from the sleepless nights. She wanted to say something. To cheer him up, but she knew it was futile. She could barely keep herself going. How had things ended up like this?

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"Huh? Hinata?" His voice still lacked its usual energy. It saddened her. They'd talked a lot over the past couple days, but she had noticed the change. She knew it was in her voice as well. Everything felt so….

"I-I was wondering about Alucard-san. It's just…" she began.

**sigh** "Let's not talk about him. I'm sick of that bastard. Once I've had a good night's sleep, I'm going to kick his ass." He had said that a lot.

"S-Sorry…"

"…."

"Say, Hinata?"

"H-Hai?" Hinata looked up.

"I was wondering…Why do you always stutter?"

She blushed slightly. She hadn't expected this sort of topic. "W-Well… it's just th-that…I'm just a…a little n-nervous when I t-talk…"

Naruto seemed to think a moment as they walked. "You shouldn't."

"Huh?"

"You shouldn't be so nervous. You're nice to talk to. It's a shame to hear you stutter so much." He said, turning and smiling. He missed the fresh coat of red paint that suddenly appeared on Hinata's cheeks as something caught his eye. "Oh, now what's he up to?"

Alucard had suddenly veered off the road up ahead and was running out into the woods. "Now what's he up to? Come on Hinata, we should keep an eye on him." Grabbing her hand he began to drag her along for the ride. He didn't notice, but his companion seemed to be a little out of it.

--------

Naruto took stock of his surroundings as he searched for Alucard. Hinata seemed to be out of it for the moment, so Naruto focused on that strange feeling he had always had around Alucard and tried to pick out a direction. He was surprised by the power of it. '_Whoa! What the heck's that?_'

Moving between the trees, they eventually came to a small clearing. In the middle of it was Alucard, a big dark green energy swirling around him. His attention was caught, however, by the figure across from Alucard. It was a young boy, about Naruto's age, with an equally huge silvery black aura burning around him.

The sheer power from each of them stunned him. He'd never felt anything like it before. It was beyond anything he'd ever experience before…even the Kyuubi's power from the time at the waterfall paled in comparison. Branches on trees all around them whipped back in the wind flowing from the two, threatening to snap.

Naruto could only stand and watch the sight. The boy seemed to regard the ever-intense Alucard with a careful interest, as if trying to figure something out. "**Dragon.**" Naruto heard the boy say. The voice sounded odd though. It was far too deep for someone their age.

Finaly, after what seemed an eternity the boy's aura faded. "I know that; I'm going already," he seemed to whisper to himself with an unhappy look. Slowly he backed away as Alucard continued to stare at him intently, the aura still burning around him as the boy disappeared into the trees.

--------

"What the hell was that about?" The aura around Alucard was starting to fade.

Naruto was furious. He'd had just enough of this. Ever since he'd been dragged out of Konoha on this stupid mission that Alucard bastard had been nothing but trouble. He was tired of all of it. He wanted answers and he wanted them now. "Tell me what's going on!" Alucard's head hung low, hand over his eye. He seemed to hear nothing as the livid ninja in orange moved closer to him.

'_Naruto-kun…_' Hinata knew what Naruto was feeling, but couldn't bring herself to say anything. She was scared…_so much energy_…but she had to be brave. Naruto was here. If she couldn't be brave while he was around…

"Hey! Are you listening to me?" said Naruto, stepping in front of Alucard. The downcast figure didn't move, his hand not leaving his eye. Naruto still couldn't see his expression, but that didn't matter to him. It did, however, matter to him that he, Naruto, was almost shaking. Why was he so scared? He shouldn't be scared of the bastard!

The fear made him angry. The fact that he was afraid made him even angrier. For days it had been boiling inside and now it was finally unleashing itself. He couldn't stand it any longer.

"I asked what the hell that was all about!"

"**If you wish to live to see tomorrow you will shut your mouth now.**"

The sudden words came with an almost physical force to them that caused Naruto to stumble back a step. It had not so much been a threat as a statement of fact. Naruto staggered back a second step as Alucard suddenly raised his head, murder in his eye. From between the fingers of Alucard's left hand Naruto saw his other eye, tinted red as a veritable river of blood flowed from it, soaking his cheek and staining the mask over his mouth.

That constant feeling of Alucard's presence suddenly grew stronger again the energy began to rise again and surround the bleeding man. The same large dark green chakra returned suddenly. That's when Naruto doubled over in pain.

"Ahh!" It was as if he had been slammed in the stomach. The strange feeling of Alucard's presence had turned suddenly to pain and his abdomen felt like it was on fire. As he topped forward towards the ground, a pair of arms surrounded him. "Naruto-kun!"

The endless flow of blood from Alucard's eye increased, causing him to growl in pain. Waves of black began swirling within his frightful aura, twisting and contorting it. A fresh wave of fear poured over Hinata.

"AHHH!" Alucard cried with pain, gripping his bloody eye tighter and bending again. His muscles tightening and straining against themselves. Turning his face to the sky he let out another scream before suddenly dropping his head and arms. He hung almost puppet like for a moment, towering over the huddled form in front of him. Slowly, shakily, his right hand moved and drew his sword. Naruto didn't even see it from the pain and all Hinata could do was to turn so as to put more of herself in front of him.

The scene hung for a long moment. Hinata holding Naruto protectively on the ground as Alucard stood over them with his sword in the air, his expression hidden by the angle. Hinata shut her eyes tight.

The sword struck.


	5. Chapter 5

Ishikengo no Kami

Author Notes:

Hello again! Thank you for continuing on to this chapter. I hope you enjoy it as well. Few things first again:

Note: I'm puting this up in a rush before I leae for a while. There may be some issues...but it should be good.

Disclaimer: I have no rights to the character, setting, story and otherwise that have been taken from the original manga and anime Naruto. I will make no money from this, nor do I intend to cost the holders of the original work's rights any money. I do this not to cause trouble, but to express a great appreciation for a wonderful series. I request that the original creator and those who have the rights to it to not look upon this not as a mean spirited infringement, but as a great compliment and free advertising.

Thanks: I would like to thank Deaku for beta and proof reading. I would also like to give a big thanks to my friend Joe, whose characters and ideas I am, in part, using. Finally, thanks to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei for creating Naruto in the first place.

Denotation:

"Speech"

'_Thought_'

**-Sound-**

Japanese:

Okaa – Mother (respectful)

Ittekimasu – I'll be going now (Roughly translated. It's a common saying for when you leave home)

Itterashai – Take care of yourself (Roughly translated. It's the common reply to Ittekimasu)

--------

A small pool of blood soaked the ground around the forms of the three travelers, steadily expanding around pebbles on the un-even dirt. Hinata opened her eyes, feeling as if it was for the first time in years while time had passed so slowly. She looked up.

Above her stood Alucard, both eyes shut tight. His breathing heavy and ragged, as if he had been running for days on end. His cheek was still soaked with blood, but only a small trickle escaped his eye now. His right hand still gripped his sword, his left hand gripped his right, and the tip was buried in his own leg.

His hand slowly opened and released the grip on his sword arm. Hinata noticed the marks on his wrist from where he had been squeezing it. The sword was pulled from his leg and his arm hung at his side, still holding it. The flow from his eye picked up a moment and his body tensed, before he let out a scream of rage and drove his head into the tree next to him.

For the longest time, the only sound was of his heavy ragged breathing as is gradually slowed and came under his own control. Hinata looked briefly to Naruto. He was conscious, but seemed detached from reality. His hand still gripped his stomach, though it had slackened when the pain had passed.

Finally, Alucard's breathing came back to normal. He turned, walked past the two genin and then paused. "You have no idea of what you speak, so I suggest you hold your tongue. I WILL fulfill my mission and bring you back as I was ordered to."

As he began to walk again, Hinata thought she heard him speak again in a much softer voice. "It's all I can do just to keep control now. Don't push me any further."

Naruto was mostly unresponsive for the rest of the day. Having no other choice, Hinata had followed with him behind Alucard. The mood had been decidedly gloomy. Even in the morning it still was.

'_Naruto-kun…_'

She looked across at the boy she so admired. His head still hung as he walked. Something was very wrong. Alucard had scared the wits out of Hinata, but even so it was so strange seeing Naruto this way. Maybe…just maybe…she could cheer him up? She didn't have much hope, but for his sake she had to try.

"N-Naruto-kun…?" He had told her she shouldn't stutter. She had to work on that!

"Hmmm?"

"Are you…alright?" What a dumb thing to say! He must think she's so stupid. How could she ask something like that?

"I'm not sure." The heiress turned. Not sure? How could he be not sure? Naruto was always sure… "Hinata…I'm sorry."

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"I'm sorry I couldn't do anything. I'm sorry you had to protect me. I couldn't even protect myself. I was scared….and then I was in pain. I couldn't even move." His voice rose. "I should have been the one! I should have protected you! Instead I was just curled up like that! It's pathetic!" His head dropped again, depression steeling over him. "I hate this…I hate being helpless. I'm so…so…"

"It's ok, Naruto-kun."

'_H-Hinata?_'

"It's ok, you don't always have to be the strongest. As long as you never give up, and you keep on trying, you can become stronger and make your dreams come true. I learned that from you. When I fought Neiji-niisan I gave up hope too, until you called out to me. You didn't let me give up, and because of that I was able to change. Now, I won't let you give up either. Even if you aren't strong enough now, you will become stronger. I know you will. Because never giving up and always striving towards your goals…that has always been your strength. That's why you are truly strong already. No matter how bad things get, I know you can succeed."

Naruto was stunned. He didn't know what to say. '_That's why you are truly strong already…_' She thought…he was strong…

It had happened again, she realized. Her emotions had spoken for her. She wasn't even fully sure what she had said. She quickly turned her head away, a deep blush creeping over her cheeks. She was so embarrassed!

"It's funny…I never tell anyone when I'm feeling sad…or weak." Hinata turned an eye to her companion to see his face hidden as he watched the ground as he walked. "But with you, it's so easy. And every time I do you end up making me feel so much better, just like that." He raised his head to look at her, a slight smile on his lips. "Thank you, Hinata."

Hinata felt her mind suddenly suffered a catastrophic system failure as her face nearly began to glow. What part of her could still think began down a line of thought that threatened to make her state of mind even worse. '_Should I tell him…how I feel?_'

--------

A ways down the road, Alucard attempted to evade his pursuer with his slow plodding pace. It was no use. The memories **always** caught up…

"_Get up sleepyhead, you're going to be late!"_

_The young boy, who looked to be about six years old, rolled over mumbling something about a few more minutes._

"_Sheesh, what an irresponsible little brother I have. How do you expect to make Anbu some day if you can't even get out of bed to go to the academy on time?"_

_That usually did the trick. The boy rolled irritably out of bed and followed his big sister downstairs for breakfast. Mother was cooking eggs again. "You need to be more responsible. A good ninja is never late."_

"_Hai, Okaa-san."_

"_I have an important mission today, so I will be home late. Your sister will cook dinner."_

"_Hai, Okaa-san." This was nothing new. Mother was a member of the elite Anbu squad that had been nicknamed 'The Watchers' for their highly developed stealth skills. She was rarely home for dinner…_

"_Don't worry," his sister whispered to him. "We can order out."_

"_Good, I don't think I could survive another of your home cooked meals." With that he raced to the door grinning widely before she could retaliate. "Itekimasu!"_

"_Itterashai, you little brat."_

"_Itterashai, Alucard."_

_-------- _

"N-Na-Nar-ru-ruto…I…." Naruto turned towards the stuttering girl. What was up with her? She was redder than he'd ever seen her and struggling with her words more than usual. She can be so weird sometimes…

"I…I…" Suddenly, the struggled sentence cut off as there was a rustle in the trees. "Hey, who's there?" shouted Naruto.

With a great leap, a figure came down from the branches landing mere inches in front of Naruto and staring at him face to face. After pulling back in surprise, Naruto managed to recognize him as the boy from earlier. "Who are you?"

The other boy stepped back with a smug grin. "I'm Inu Coldash, the future greatest ninja of all time!"

Naruto could only look on in shock. "Huh?"

"That's right! The best ever! I'm going to become the greatest ninja in the world and everyone will know!"

The confusion from the recent event soon drained to the back of Naruto's mind as his ego kicked into full gear. "Hah! If you're going to be the best ever, that means you'd have to be better than me, and that's not possible! I'm going to become hokage and surpass all other hokage before me!"

"Hokage nothing! I'm going to be even better than that! I'm going to surpass everyone and everything!"

"Oh yeah? Well…!"

Hinata slowly came to grips with the current situation as the heated debate continued. A little while ago Naruto had been telling her she was nice to talk to and…and...

She blushed significantly at the thought.

Then this strange boy, the same one who had been having some sort of staring contest with Alucard a little while ago had popped out of nowhere. Now he and Naruto seemed to be arguing about who would become greater than the other. Not surprisingly, Hinata was being ignored again.

She took a moment to look the boy over. He was indeed about their age, with spiky black hair. He seemed to be wearing some sort of dark purple martial arts gi, and his features seemed slightly foreign. But despite the foreignness, he looked a bit like Naruto.

"Well then, how about we settle it now, huh?"

"If you're looking for a fight, you got it!"

"A-Ano….excuse me…"

"Huh? What's up, Hinata?"

"Huh? Who are…" The boy seemed to freeze a moment. He stared at Hinata with wide eyes as she was poking her fingers together. "S…So cute!"

"Huh?"

"You're so cute! You said her name was Hinata? Such a nice name! My name's Inu Coldash! Say, say, Hinata-chan? Will you go out with me?"

"N-NANI!" Naruto looked back and forth between this newcomer and Hinata. She looked shocked and was blushing heavily. He had a great big grin on his face. "What happened to our fight?"

"Huh? Oh, never mind that. It's not important. Hey, Hinata-chan! Want to go find some place to get a bite to eat? It'll be my treat! How about it?"

Hinata found herself unable to answer. He was speaking way too quickly and loudly for her to reply. Not that she knew what to say anyways. "Hey, leave her alone! Can't you see you're bothering her?"

"What? What are you talking about? I'm not bothering her. Right, Hinata-chan?"

"A-ano…"

"Hmm?"

"W-We have a mission! We h-have to go now. Alucard-san is…"

"Huh? Alucard? Oh, that guy who was just here…" Inu glanced at Naruto a moment. "Well, I can't very well leave a pretty girl like yourself unprotected with a guy like that. Where are you going? I'll come with you."

"Like hell you will! I can protect her myself. You just run along." With that, Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand again and dragged her off. 'Who does he think he is? Declaring he'll be the best ever just like that…some nerve!' Naruto glanced back at the girl he was dragging along. '_Can't protect her, huh? I'll show him!_'

Hinata was thoroughly confused.

--------

"G-good night, Naruto-kun." It had become a habit to say that, even though they both knew no sleep would be coming.

"Good night, Hinata." Naruto looked across at Alucard again. He was being even quieter than usual today. Ever since…

"Good night, Hinata-chan!" Naruto glanced over in annoyance. "Why are you still here?"

"I told you, I'm going to protect Hinata-chan. That's why." With that, Inu plopped down in front of the fire across from Alucard, blocking his view of them.

"That bastard…" Grumbled Naruto. Hinata fell asleep almost instantly. Having Inu blocking the line of sight from Alucard greatly relieved the nervous pressure he gave off, and her sleepiness quickly overcame her. Eventually, Naruto drifted off to sleep as well. Demon fox or not, you can only go so long without sleep before it catches up to you.

Inu glanced back at the two fondly. Well…at one of the two fondly.

"Why am I so attracted to you?"

A large sweat drop rolled down the side of Inu's head. "Did you need to phrase it that way?" He paused to look behind himself at Naruto. "Same reason we're both attracted to fox-boy here." He turned back to the other. "Tell me, how much do you know?"


	6. Chapter 6

Ishikengo no Kami

Author Notes:

Hello again! Thank you for continuing on to this chapter. I hope you enjoy it as well. Few things first again:

Disclaimer: I have no rights to the character, setting, story and otherwise that have been taken from the original manga and anime Naruto. I will make no money from this, nor do I intend to cost the holders of the original work's rights any money. I do this not to cause trouble, but to express a great appreciation for a wonderful series. I request that the original creator and those who have the rights to it to not look upon this not as a mean spirited infringement, but as a great compliment and free advertising.

Thanks: I would also like to give a big thanks to my friend Joe, whose characters and ideas I am, in part, using. Finally, thanks to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei for creating Naruto in the first place.

Denotation:

"Speech"

'_Thought_'

**-Sound-**

--------

Far below in a wide valley a city under construction bustled with activity. The four travelers looked down on it from a high ridge on the road, their forms outlined by the morning sun.

"We're almost there." The speaker was Alucard. He seemed to be doing a bit better now. Soon they would arrive.

"S-So….Inu-kun"

"Ah! Hinata-chan! What is it?"

Naruto watched them from the corner of his eye. For the last couple days Inu had been traveling with them, uninvited, and had spent most of his time arguing with Naruto or hitting on Hinata. That second part was irritating Naruto too…he wasn't quite sure why.

"A-ano…you haven't told us very much about yourself. All we know is that you came from far away, which is why your name…"

"Which is why your name is backwards!"

"It's not backwards, yours is!"

"Yeah right! Who puts their own name first, and then their family name?"

"I do, that's who! Who puts their family name first?"

"I do!"

**-Pfft-**

"and Hinata does, too!"

That shut him up. Naruto reveled smugly in his victory while Inu steamed.

"A-ano…"

"Ah, gomen, Hinata-chan. Let's see… Well, I was born in a very small village. My mother died when I was born, and my father left shortly after that."

"Th-that's horrible."

"It's not so bad. I never found out why he left though. That's why I'm looking for him. I'm going to find him some day, and show him how strong I've become!" Inu gazed confidently into the sky.

In addition to his very similar appearance, Hinata had found Inu to be startlingly similar to Naruto in personality as well. "Hah! Some goal that is!" A fact that seemed to irritate Naruto. If opposites attract, it seemed alikes repel.

"Oh! Oh! And suppose your goal to become Hokage and make everyone acknowledge you is any better!"

"Of course it is! I…"

"Shut up. We're here." Alucard's interruption caught them by surprise.

The large gates to the city towered open before them. Inside, people bustled about from one place to another. It wasn't as large as Konoha, but it seemed very busy. They strode inside, looking all around at the unfamiliar sights, as Alucard led them straight to a large important looking building with numerous steps leading up to the door.

"Well, this is were we part ways." They turned to look at Inu. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan, but I have to return to my master to continue my training. Don't worry though, we'll meet again. That's a promise! And I always keep my promises." With that he turned to Naruto.

"Naruto"

"Inu"

"Well then, I'll be on my way. Good luck, Hinata-chan!" With that, the black haired boy turned and left quickly, headed back to the entrance.

"Bout time he left. He was really getting on my nerves."

'_Naruto-kun…_'

--------

"You called for me, sir?" The speaker was female, her voice accented.

"Ah, you've finally arrived." The figure turned to the new arrival. Hidden branch could easily be seen in the distance through the trees.

"I am sorry, sir." She bowed low. "He was more trouble than we thought. He has been convinced, however."

"Very good. Now, on to the matter at hand. Take a look."

The female paused a moment. "The Coldash kid? What's he doing here?"

"He ran into the other targets a couple days ago. It seems he's leaving now, though."

"Do you want me to…"

"No. Look."

In the distance, Inu bowed to an old man in a martial artist's gi similar to his own. "Is that…"

"Indeed. In any event, we can wait. The boy will not be with his master forever. Besides, there are more important matters to discuss. I may have devised a solution…"

--------

"Finally! He's gone." Naruto turned his gaze back from the main gate. "That guy was so annoying! How'd want to be around anyone so cocky and loud?"

"N-Naruto-kun…"

"Huh? What is it, Hinata?"

"N-Nothing!"

With a confused look at the blushing girl, Naruto started glancing around the square again. There were a lot of people bustling around from place to place. It was all rather busy.

"Hey! Get back to work!" A large man yelled. In front of him, a rather elderly worker covered in sweat struggled to lift a large stone block. "I'm paying you to work! Get that moved, now!"

'_That bastard!_' thought Naruto. _'I'll give him a piece of my mind!'_ He stepped forward, ready to intervene, when suddenly the robber froze.

"That's not a very nice way to treat your employees." Slowly Alucard faded into view behind the man, his sword pressed against his throat. "A-Alucard!"

"I'm gone for a few weeks, and this is what happens? Scum like you…"

"That's enough Alucard." Naruto turned to see a well-dressed man coming down the steps with a group of tough looking men. '_Who's this guy?_'

"N-Naruto-kun. Look." Naruto turned to see Alucard…_that _Alucard…kneeling in the street as this man approached. The large man seemed ready to run, until he caught sight of Alucard's glare being directed towards him.

"Takemi, you know that's not the way we do business here. I suggest you treat your workers better. Be on your way." The man bowed quickly and hurried off, obviously relieved to get away. Meanwhile the old man stopped to thank Alucard, before going to find a place to sit and rest.

"Are these the two from Konoha?"

"Hai."

The man looked them over as if appraising them. "A bit younger than expected, but they seem capable enough. How do you do? My name is Akimoto Kazuma. Welcome to my city."

As Naruto stumbled through his introductions, thrown by Alucards subservient attitude, a lone figure on the stairs watched with a look of disgust on his face. '_That curséd_ _Alucard…what have you become now?_'

--------

The days went by quickly. They helped with all sorts of things: putting up buildings, hunting for food and even dealing with the occasional bandit trouble. Some of the work was hard, but all in all it was a relaxing sort of mission now that they weren't traveling with Alucard every day.

He'd been helping out too, more than anyone else. He seemed to throw himself into the work, even if it was an unimportant task. Naruto still couldn't get over how supplicant Alucard had been around the village leader though. When he had asked someone about it, he was told that it was because of a debt of honor or something like that. Alucard might be cold and unpleasant, but supposedly he was firm about honor and doing what's right. Naruto found that a bit hard to swallow.

Soon, a week had passed. Naruto continued to complain in private about the wasted time, but Hinata noticed he seemed to enjoy helping anyways. As they walked through the street on another task she looked over at him.

"Here you go, old man. It's the rice you wanted." They'd carried it from the storehouse out to the main square. It was just one of a number of errands on their list for today.

"Why, thank you Naruto. I really appreciate it."

"Ah, don't mention it. It's all part of the mission after all. Besides, the sooner we get everything done, the sooner I can get back to training!" The old man chuckled a bit, but then stopped as he noticed a commotion.

"Naruto-kun. Look over there."

"Huh?" Naruto turned to see a small crowd gathered around three figures. Naruto made them out to be Alucard, the village leader and his advisor. It looked like there was an argument going on.

"He must leave at once! It is dangerous I tell you." The advisor had an ugly sneer as he spoke. Naruto had never talked to the guy, but he had seen him around. He hadn't liked him from the start. "I knew something was wrong when he first returned. That's why I told you as soon as I figured out what. He is infested with demons!"

Shock rippled through the crowd. Demons? Naruto was as surprised as the rest, but a more important thought filled his mind. He looked around at the faces of the other villagers. Those eyes…He didn't like where this was going.

He saw the leader turned to look at Alucard, his face unreadable. "Alucard, is what he says true?"

Alucard paused a long moment before replying, but he never looked away. "It is."

"You see? We cannot allow this! He is endangering the entire village! He must be cast out immediately" Hinata turned when she heard a strange noise. Had Naruto…growled?

"There is no danger. I am in control."

"But for how long? You can't control them forever."

"My will is strong. Something a sniveling coward like you cannot understand." Alucard's voice was steady and firm, but his hand moved slowly to his sword. The adviser sweated a bit when he noticed, but did not back down.

"Alucard…" Both men turned towards their leader. "I'm sorry. I will have to ask you to leave the village."

Alucard stood a moment, his hand tightening on his sword. Tension wrung the air and for a long time no one moved. A small trickle of blood flowed down his cheek before he reached up and wiped it away.

"…As you command." He bowed. Without another word Alucard turned and walked down the street towards the gate. The villagers quickly parted like a receding tide; afraid to be near him. The silence continued even after he disappeared through the gate, until it was broken by a cry.

"WHY!" The yell startled the two officials.

"W-what? Oh, the ninja from Konoha. What do you want?" The advisor's sneer continued despite his victory. Of course, it was always there. It may as well have been painted on.

"Why did you kick him out? Why?"

"My boy, he is infested with demons! Four of them! Surely someone as dangerous as that cannot be allowed to…"

"He never hurt any of you! He's done nothing but help you, and now you just kick him out?" The boy was going red in the face from anger. They'd turned on him. The fact that Alucard had been carrying demons all this time didn't matter to him at the moment. The fact that he hated the bastard didn't matter either. Only one thing mattered. He had just seen something that had rung deep within him. The fear and hatred toward one who carries a demon.

He'd grown up with it. He'd seen it in almost every face back home. They had turned against Alucard. They were forcing him to leave for good, even though he'd been helping them. What if…

"There is nothing I can do." The leader's back was turned as he spoke. "My advisor is right. We cannot let him stay. It is a danger too great to risk."

Hinata stepped forward. Learning that Alucard was infested had been a shock, though it explained a lot of things. It must have happened in that abandoned temple, right before his eye had started bleeding. He had been acting strange since then. She wasn't sure what to think, but at the moment something was more important. '_Naruto-kun…_'

Suddenly, Naruto turned and ran. She couldn't see his face, but she could tell he was in pain. She'd never seen him like that before. Overhead, that clouds darkened further.

--------

The path led him into the woods, but then he had taken off between the trees. He hadn't seen Alucard, but that was fine. Naruto wasn't in the mood for company. The recent events boiled around in his mind. He felt like he had just seen his own future. All he wanted to do was run. Run and be alone.

He tripped and fell, landing on his face. Lacking the will to stand, he simply lay there and slowly rolled over to stare at the sky. It started to rain. It seemed fitting.

Then was it, then? Too dangerous. That's all there was to it. He was too dangerous, so he had to leave. Simple as that. The drops began running down the sides of his face.

Was Naruto too dangerous, too? Would he ever be allowed to be Hokage? His clothes began to darken as they absorbed the water.

Even if he was… He sighed. Could life get any worse?

"Well well, what do we have here?" Naruto's instincts brought him to his feet. Several yards away stood a strange woman. She was tall and foreign looking. Her lips displayed a small humorless smile.

Naruto was set on edge. That feeling…he felt it from her, too.

"Time to die, little fox."


	7. Chapter 7

Ishikengo no Kami

Author Notes:

Hello again! Thank you for continuing on to this chapter. I hope you enjoy it as well. Few things first again:

Disclaimer: I have no rights to the character, setting, story and otherwise that have been taken from the original manga and anime Naruto. I will make no money from this, nor do I intend to cost the holders of the original work's rights any money. I do this not to cause trouble, but to express a great appreciation for a wonderful series. I request that the original creator and those who have the rights to it to not look upon this not as a mean spirited infringement, but as a great compliment and free advertising.

Thanks: I would like to give a big thanks to my friend Joe, whose characters and ideas I am, in part, using. Finally, thanks to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei for creating Naruto in the first place.

Denotation:

"Speech"

'_Thought_'

**-Sound**-

Japanese/Techniques/ect:

Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Naruto's mass-summoning of Kage Bunshin

NOTE: Sorry about the really long delays. If it's not one thing it's another (and writing fight scenes are really tough). Also, as a small warning, this is without any beta reading. Sorry if it's a little rough (I've done what I can on my own, so hopefully it's not bad).

--------

Hinata ran on. She didn't know what else to do.

Naruto had suddenly run off into the woods without a word; She'd been so surprised that it had taken her a moment to react. She'd fallen even further behind when she couldn't match Naruto's speed. Now she wasn't sure where he was.

What had happened? Why had he run off like that? She was confused. But all she could do for now was search.

"Byakugon"

--------

"W-who are you?" Naruto pushed himself to his feet, struggling to think quickly. '_Fox-boy?_'

-**Humph- **"My name is Xiao Xing," Naruto found he couldn't place her accent. "And I am here kill you."

Within the instant, she was upon him. Naruto barely managed to avoid the sudden furious blow. Backing up, He threw a wild kick only to have it blocked with ease. The following punch slammed into his stomach, knocking him backwards to the ground.

Rising to his feet, he fell back on an old favorite and summoned his clones. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Suddenly several Narutos, all sporting the same cocky grin, appeared in the air plunging at the strange woman.

With a small smirk, and a quick couple hand signals, Xiao Xing swung her hand in front of her. A bolt of lightning lanced out from it and arced between the clones, dispatching the group in a mere moment.

"It will take much more than that, I'm afraid." She paced towards him as he bore his teeth in frustration.

"Then much more it is. Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The forest's trees bent under the weight of the small army that had suddenly appeared. Hundreds of the same face smiled confidently from all around.

"Hah! Think there's enough now?"

"What's the matter?"

"Cat got your tongue?"

"Think you can take us all?"

"No." Xiao Xing spoke, looking steadily around her. "I know that I can."

"Hah! Yeah right!"

"Think you got enough electricity in you for us all?"

"Let's go!"

and the air was filled of Naruto.

--------

Alucard trudged on down the road. His hair hid his face as he walked, dripping rain onto the ground. Shallow footprints in the fresh mud stretched out behind him.

It seemed the debt had been canceled. It was time to move on.

The soft sound of rain gave way briefly to a loud blast, as somewhere in the distance far behind him the air burst with lightning.

--------

Naruto sat on the ground, stunned and burned. All the clones were gone, and the ground itself around Xiao Xing had been burned black. The woman's gaze had not left him.

"Was that enough electricity for you? I'm sure I can do more." A strange pulsating light drew Naruto's gaze downward. A glowing orb of golden energy orbited Xiao Xing's wrist, like a mini satellite.

"What…"

"Pathetic. With so little strength, what could you hope to accomplish?"

"Don't count me out yet!" A last remaining clone who he had hidden during the attack dropped from the tree next to him and began focusing the swirling chakra in Naruto's hand. "I'll show you my strength!"

"It doesn't matter, it's over for you now anyways." Lightning crackled around her fist as she dove forward, thrusting towards Naruto.

"Rasengan!"

The two attacks collided with a burst of energy. The area around them swirled with energy, the already battered trees bending even further away. The light and crackling energy made it hard to see, but the two combatants faced each other.

'_She's still smirking! Damn her!_' Spurred by the slight, Naruto started pushing the woman back. "Don't underestimate me!"

The smirk only intensified. "That's my line, little fox." A small flash caught Naruto's eye. By Xiao Xing's wrist, a spark began to flicker into existence.

**-Ftt ftt-**

Suddenly, the spark burst into a second sphere of golden light and began orbiting her wrist opposite the first. Xiao Xing's chakra intensified, bursting with incredible energy. Naruto was being pushed back. He was being pushed back _fast_.

Naruto's back erupted with pain as he slammed into a large tree, leaving a huge dent in the trunk. Xiao Xing didn't even wait. Her hand, still covered in electricity, thrust at Naruto's chest.

_**NO!**_

Naruto burst into pain.

--------

Hinata rushed between the trees. The explosion she'd just seen… Was Naruto all right? It had been a long ways off, but she ran as fast as she could.

'_Naruto-kun…_'

Another great blast erupted in the distance.

She redoubled her speed.

--------

Pain. Great burning pain filled Naruto's stomach.

_**Kill her!**_

Blearily, Naruto looked up. In the distance he saw Xiao Xing standing up slowly, next to a tree that had been snapped in half.

_**Kill him!**_

'_Huh?_' Why was she over there? And what had broken the tree?

_**Tear them to pieces!**_

The pain grew even greater, causing Naruto to double over again. His vision was filled with red. His world with pain. In the distance, Xiao Xing stared at him with wide eyes.

_**Kill them all!**_

Naruto struggled to think. His chest was uninjured. Xiao Xing's attack hadn't hit him. Something had intervened.

_**Crush them! Kill!**_

Naruto found himself on his feet. Energy coursed through his body. Pain threatened to make him pass out.

_**KILL!**_

Xiao Xing's expression turned from surprise to hunger. A great purple chakra swirled up around her, twisting and contorting. Slowly, two eyes formed in the energy above her.

A great feline roar bellowed forth.

Pain surged through Naruto, finally overriding his last hold on consciousness. As his eyes closed he saw Xiao Xing rush towards him, crackling with energy.

_**No!**_

--------

The world grew even darker as night began to fall.

Hinata surveyed the area around her with growing dread. She was in a small clearing which had recently been made notably larger. The trees all around where bent and broken. The ground had been blasted bare. Something big had happened here.

'_Naruto-kun…where are you?_'

She had a bad feeling about this. As she walked around, something caught her eye. It was a piece of fabric. She could tell it had originally been orange, but was now nearly dyed completely red.

She choked back the tears. He had to be around somewhere. There was no time to cry; He needed her.

--------

A long ways off, two figures walked through the woods in the dark and rain. "Well done, Xiao Xing." It was the firm voice we have heard many times before. "You worried me for a moment when you almost lost control, but things are turning out well."

"Yes, sir. But I still don't understand. Why…"

"I have my reasons. This is just another step towards my goal."

"Sir." She continued to walk on in silence, but occasionally stole glances at the man beside her.

"Now, to prepare for the next step…"

--------

A memory of being dragged…

Naruto opened his eyes and sat up, slowly, almost falling off.

He was still in the woods…but not the same area. The ground was carved from stone. Pillars arose from the ground in several directions. As Naruto slid off the stone pedestal he had been laying on he noticed an intricate pattern scribed on the floor all around him. In the center, it swirled in to where he had been laying.

'_Something's…wrong here…What is it?_'

He still ached all over. Every part of him complained about some injury or another. However the biggest pain from before, the blinding pain in his stomach, had disappeared. Something made him lift his shirt and look down.

The seal was gone.

'**_HAHAHAHA!_**'

A great red energy swirled up around Naruto, writhing and expanding in all directions. An unseen wind ruffled his hair and shirt. Naruto stood in shock. The seal was gone. The Kyubi's chakra was growing from within him.

And he had no control over it.

This was bad. _Really_ bad. The Kyubi was dangerous. _He_ was dangerous now. If the Kyubi took control…or if he left his body…

He had to keep him away. Away from everyone. The Kyubi would hurt people. Kill them. '_I…I have to stay away from everyone, so no one will get hurt. I have to…_'

As the deep gleeful laughter from within grew, a smaller sound from the outside drew his attention towards the bushes. His blood froze in his veins from fear.

'_No…_'

"N-Naruto-kun?"

'…

…_Hinata…_'


End file.
